Onstage Zen: My Recent Feature in Elephant Journal!

Yesterday, an article of mine on meditation and performing was featured on Elephant Journal. Yay!

This piece was a bit of a personal one, exploring one of the main reasons I’ve struggled so much as a performer for most of my adult life. But beyond the struggle, it also talks about one of the biggest game-changers in my life over the past few years: meditation.

If you’ve been reading my blog or following my work, it’s probably no surprise to you that I love meditation and that I see it as an important (if not fundamental) tool for performers.

But I didn’t always feel that way. In fact, for a large part of my life, I didn’t think that I would ever be able to meditate. In order to be a meditator, I thought you had to be a certain “type” of person: an already zen, quiet and undramatic person (in my mind, not a performer). But all this changed for me when I did my first yoga teacher training program.

Now, meditation is the number 1 tool I use in my work with artists, but also to support me in my everyday life.

And it’s the tool that recently got me through my first performance in almost 6 years…

And if you’re not familiar with Elephant Journal, be sure the check out some of their other articles. They’ve got lots of great pieces on yoga, meditation, and sustainable living. 🙂

Much love,

-Mairin

P.S. Thanks so much again to Katherine Belfontaine for her guidance in helping me develop this meditation practice and to my acting partner, Laura Tulk, for the support you give me both on and off stage. 🙂

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Act(ing) Mindfully is a part of my work with Five Winds. It’s a space where I explore the connection between performance and energy, and offer tips and ideas on how to stay balanced and healthy (body, mind, emotions and spirit) while living the life of a performer.

Five Winds Blog

Hi! I'm Mairin Smit, Performance & Wellness Coach.

This blog is where I share thoughts and insights on performing and wellness, and offer tips and ideas on how to stay balanced and healthy (body, mind, emotions and spirit) while living the life of a performer. :)